Alice Bureau of Investigation (ABI)
by Miya Azlikov
Summary: Mikan Sakura is the new detective at ABI. She's beautiful and kind, but her past remains secret. Upon arrival, she's promoted to the top sector of the division. There, she meets Natsume Hyuuga - the handsome, cold, and awfully skilled and respected agent. She's his shining ray of hope in this world of cruelty, and he's her knight in shining armor. Full summary inside. NxM
1. Case 0: Debut

**Please review! It's always encouraging to see those in my inbox, and it motivates me to write more. :)**

_Full summary: _Mikan Sakura is the new transfer detective at ABI, a.k.a. "The Alice Bureau of Investigation." She's beautiful and kind, but her past remains heavily guarded and completely confidential. Nobody besides the higher-ups know that she was trained during her teenage years to become an assassin - then escaped to the authorities, and became a top crime-fighting figure. The only thing her new teammates know is that she grew up under harsh circumstances. They soon learn that her skill is beyond immeasurable.

Upon arrival, she's promoted to the top sector of the entire division. There, she meets Natsume Hyuuga - the handsome, cold, and awfully skilled and respected agent. She's his shining ray of hope in this world of cruelty, and he's her knight in shining armor.

Chapter 1: Debut

I stood in front of the ABI headquarters, warm coffee in one hand, and an office messenger bag slung across my opposite shoulder. I was dressed in black skinny jeans, black heels, and a sophisticated dark-blue blouse. My waist-length hair was naturally wavy, and left down. I only had mild makeup on—a little mascara, and an innocent shade of pink lip-gloss. I was attracting a lot of unwanted attention - especially from some of the male passerby's - but I completely ignored them. No surprise there. I mean, I _was_ scouted to be a model for a reason.

My outfit emphasized my slim physique, making me look extremely feminine, especially with my soft facial features and big amber eyes. However, nobody knew that in a second, I could easily kill the closest person to me in a myriad of different ways. Heck, I could even kill the man by the tree with just my high heels.

I was, after all, supposed to be an assassin.

Keyword: _supposed._

Luckily, I had a conscience and I knew killing was wrong. Somewhere in my heart, I knew that the people who'd brought me up weren't in their right minds. There was a torture session almost every night in an attempt to brainwash me, but somehow, it didn't work. Of course, I pretended to be brainwashed. So on my first mission, which was to assassinate a powerful businessman, I hightailed it out of there. I escaped, ran to the officials, spilled all the information that I knew. Now, I was a crime-fighting agent.

Who'd just gotten transferred to ABI's main headquarter_. _It was a huge step up from where I'd previously worked.

I took one more swig of coffee, and then walked through security. My bag was efficiently checked for any unregistered guns or bombs, but of course, I was clean. Since I'd been previously given a clearance badge, my security check was minimal. So nobody noticed the knife hidden in my heels. I entered the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

I entered the flat with a completely composed expression, even though I was slightly nervous about meeting my new co-workers. This top team owned the entire floor, and being such an asset to the government, they received the most unimaginable luxuries. I mean, there were two couches, a fireplace, a bathroom, an oblong desk along with a whiteboard (probably for discussing cases), a kitchen, and then rows of desks where the sector worked.

However, nobody (except one) was working at the moment. The whole team was situated at the oblong table, giving me different vibes. I noticed that one agent - he had ebony-black hair and crimson eyes - wasn't even paying attention and was instead going through a case file. Two of the female agents - one with pink hair, the other with blue - were waving animatedly.

"Hi, I'm Mikan Sakura. The transfer agent?" I introduced with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

A chorus of "Hello's" and "Welcome's" pursued.

"Here, sit down. We already got your nameplate on it. I'm Koko, by the way."

I gracefully slid into the chair, which was sandwiched in between the man engrossed in case files, and Koko. "Thanks."

In order, the team introduced themselves. I quickly memorized their names and faces: Koko, Tsubasa, Nonoko, Anna, Hotaru, Ruka, Yuu, and…

"Uh, Natsume?" Anna asked tentatively.

"Hn." He didn't even look up from his case files.

"Do you want to introduce yourself to Mikan?"

He looked up at me briefly. His eyes scanned me meticulously, and I raised an eyebrow in response. He was _extremely _handsome—with those deep crimson eyes, defined jaw, flawless skin, sexily messed up hair…"No need, as you already mentioned my name, and I don't think she's stupid enough to not have caught that."

I glanced at him incredulously. Anna bit her lip. "Sorry, he's like that sometimes."

"No, I get it. You know, I did hear that guys are going into mid-life crisis a lot sooner. Guess he just proved that research a hundred percent correct," I shrugged. Across the table, Koko guffawed with laughter and the whole group joined in. Well, besides Natsume.

"I'm already liking you, newbie," Tsubasa exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever heard a woman go against Natsume yet. Except Hotaru, but what the heck? She doesn't really count."

Hotaru smirked at that, but otherwise, she was stoic.

"Anyways, here's your new laptop and phone," Nonoko exclaimed. She handed the set to me, and man, it was shiny and new and expensive-looking. I booted the laptop and turned on the phone quickly. "We've already installed the necessary soft wares that you'll need here at ABI. I also inputted all of our numbers, just in case."

"Great, thanks," I said. "Um...so is there a case going on or something?" I gestured to the files that Natsume had.

"Yeah, we just got it this morning," Tsubasa said. "If you look at your phone, there's an app that lets you see any cases that we have. Anytime the higher-ups assign us one, it'll come directly through that system."

I nodded, pressing the app on the screen. "All right. So what's the procedure here? Who's doing what?"

Nonoko grinned. "Anna and I are the lab rats. We do the forensics, the autopsies, and all the scientific parts. Koko's the psychologist on the case. He's really good at interviewing suspects. And he's a boss at reading minds. Anyways, Tsubasa, Ruka, and Natsume are the head field agents. Hotaru's the data analyzer. Yuu is like our coordinator. Whenever we go out on missions, he has us on earpiece and is tracking us and our targets down."

"Okay, so what's my role then?"

At that exact moment, a blonde man strolled in. He wore a crisp suit and he oozed sophistication. Within a second of his arrival, the whole team stood up and bowed - except for Natsume, who just raised his head to acknowledge him.

"Ms. Sakura, you're going to be Natsume's partner from here on out. In the office, _and _in the field. Good luck!" And with that, he disappeared back into the elevator.

At first, there was silence.

Then, a deep growl. "_What the hell?!"_

"Was he eavesdropping on our conversation the whole time?" I asked, dumbfounded. "I mean, he just came in at that exact moment...?"

"Yukihara's like that. Extremely clever, very careful, very sneaky, and very annoying sometimes. He's the only person who's managed to sidestep my blackmail—and that in itself is almost impossible! Anyways," Hotaru huffed in frustration. "You get used to it."

From inside the elevator (?), Yukihara called out: "Heard that, Hotaru! I'll remember this moment - you talking badly behind my back - when Christmas bonus comes around!"

Hotaru scowled, and said half to herself, "You need me. No money, no me."

I raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged, and I pursed my lips. _What a weird group..._

"Um…So can I, like, exchange partners or something?" I asked mildly.

"Sorry, no can do. Yukihara's word is our command," Tsubasa explained sympathetically.

"Don't slow me down," Natsume said sharply. "_Especially _when we're out in the field. I don't want any desertion, you hear me?"

"Excuse me? I would _not _desert! And I'm sure that if we didn't have guns, I could totally take you down single-handedly. I don't know if your boss told you or anything, but I'm _trained."_

"Everyone here is trained, and do you even know who I am? Natsume _Hyuuga_. I've been on so many top missions that you probably couldn't count them all with your little brain. So as I said earlier, don't bother me when we're working."

"Trained enough to do this?" I asked dangerously. Within a flash, I'd grabbed the hidden knife from my shoe and held it up towards his face. I smirked triumphantly when I saw his eyes widen a fraction. "That's what you get for underestimating a woman, _Hyuuga_."

Tsubasa stared at me. "Whoa, you can keep a knife in your heels?"

"Been doing that ever since I almost got raped a couple years ago," I laughed.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself. Even lowlifes have some self-respect," Natsume muttered.

"Excuse me?! I heard that, you insensitive jerk! Do you _want _me to hold you in deadlock again?" I said, fuming.

"I'm the insensitive one? You're the one who freaking pointed a knife at me."

"You started it, you jerk. What, couldn't handle a little threat?"

"Whatever, Polka."

"Polka?" It took me a second to process what he'd said. Then I realized that was the print of my bra. "You freaking pervert!"

"Well, at least I'm not an airhead."

"I have an IQ of 182, above Einstein's, thank you very much."

"Oh, join the club. I have an IQ of _197_."

"No way."

"Yes way."

I turned to Anna, but she just shook her head. "It's true - Natsume's a genius."

I turned back to him, annoyed by his irritating smug grin. "Poo face."

Natsume smirked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I was taught to be civilized, so I don't swear. Got a problem?"

"So you can point knives up to your superior's face, but you can't swear?"

"You are _not _my superior - "

"All right, can you two stop flirting?!" A new voice entered the room. I turned around to face a green-haired woman. What was up with hair-dye in this place?

"We weren't flirting," I stated, almost in a deadpan.

"That's Sumire Shouda," Anna whispered. "Watch out."

"Did you drug him or something?" Sumire asked me accusingly.

"Wait, what? Why would you say that?"

"Because Natsume _never _talks to random strangers. And he never talks that much. And if he ever does talk, it's only about the case."

"Sumire, that's our new transfer agent," Koko exclaimed softly. His eyes were swimming in amusement.

Her ears turned pink. "S-so? Doesn't mean that she can just steal his attention away from me!"

"Wow, Permy. I think you need a reality check. First, I was not flirting. I almost killed him, actually. Second, I wasn't stealing his attention. Third, you can have him. Fourth, I think it's a little one-sided but that's okay. Life sucks sometimes."

Everyone laughed, and Sumire blushed beet red. "Whatever. I just came to drop off the last piece of evidence." And with that, she stormed away.

Hotaru sent me a small grin. "You know your way with words, huh?"

I blew my freshly-manicured fingertips. "I try."

"Five o'clock pm tonight. I'll teach you how to blackmail."

"Ooh. Sounds cool. I'll be there."

"Then we can team up. Sixty forty on profits?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Um...why are you guys discussing this right now?" Anna asked slowly. "Anyways...this is what the case looks so far. Nonoko, can you?"

"Sure!" Nonoko smiled, jumping up and heading to the whiteboard, where she'd clipped a young woman's profile, and a picture of a crime scene (after removal of the actual body, to spare from gory images). "So. We already got an ID on the vic - Ava Stevenson. 25 years old. Found dead this morning in a small alleyway between Harrison and 2nd Street."

"The method of her murder?" I asked.

"Head trauma. Whoever killed her did so pretty quickly; we haven't found the exact murder weapon yet, but we know it's a bat. From the trajectory of the blow and everything." Nonoko exclaimed.

I nodded, absorbing the information. "Were there any splinters on the vic's head?"

"Yep. Anna ran it through the mass spec and it says the splinters are made of wood."

"What kind of wood?" I asked, my fingers drumming my leg in thought.

"Northern white ash - a rare tree. Expensive."

"Hmm…Does our vic have any connection to baseball? Any baseball players?" I asked further.

Out of nowhere, Permy returned and snorted. "Just because she was hit with a bat doesn't mean she was killed by a baseball player. I mean, everyone knows that! I could get a baseball bat from anywhere. Do I play baseball? No."

I turned to her seriously. "Northern white ash is an extremely expensive type of wood. Most pros nowadays use Northern white ash, and since its an endangered tree now, it's only available to baseball players in the big league." (A/N: Totally made that up for the sake of the story.)

Hotaru nodded. "So the person who struck her had to be a baseball player, or had to be in connection with one in order to get that bat."

"Unless it was stolen by a thug or something," Tsubasa added.

"Probably not," I said firmly. "Baseball players keep their bats at hand all the time. Especially if it's made of white ash…a theft like that would've been reported. And if I remember correctly, there haven't been any theft reports concerning any bats, right?"

Anna typed something into her laptop and after a brief second, nodded. "Right."

Koko's head lifted from his own laptop. "Just ran a background check. Our vic was friends on Facebook with Justin Gregory and had recently blocked a user that goes by the name of Mark Baron."

"They both play baseball?" Hotaru asked pointedly.

Koko grinned. "Yep. Mikan was right on. And guess what? Justin and Mark are on rival teams—they're both kind of local, and the two teams were going to play in two weeks. Whoever won that game was going to proceed to the national championships."

"Check further. I'm guessing that Justin is her boyfriend?"

"What are you, psychic? That's _my _job. To be physic and everything."

I laughed. "All right, why don't you do the prediction then?"

Koko grumbled something inaudibly, but then exclaimed: "Maybe the girl was in a love triangle and one guy got mad and killed her? Crime of passion?"

I shrugged. "That's what we have to find out, I guess."

Sumire butted in _again_. "So…if Natsume's the head agent and everything, why the _hell _is Miss Wannabe conducting the investigation?"

"Chill, Permy. I'm just trying to solve a case," I exclaimed, putting my hands up in defense.

Natsume put down the case files. Since he was right beside me, he'd been in my blind spot, so I hadn't really noticed what he was doing. I'm guessing he'd been looking at the papers the whole time? Talk about antisocial.

"Agent Shouda, please take your leave. You're hindering our investigation," Natsume said crisply.

_Oh snap. _

"O-oh…all right, see you later, Nattie! Call me." She called, and then scurried out the floor.

I couldn't help but giggle. "_Nattie? _You've got to be kidding me."

"Shut up, Polka."

"What—seriously? That's sexual harassment! I'm so reporting you."

Natsume smirked that trademark smirk of his. Why was he so dang handsome? Wait…I so did not just say that. "Try me." He turned to the team. "Anyways, this is how it goes. Tsubasa and Koko—interview the vic's boyfriend. Nonoko and Anna—finish the autopsy. Yuu and Hotaru—try and zero in on the murder weapon. I'm going to interrogate Mark. Meeting dismissed."

Everyone started to get up. "Wait, what am I doing?"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "You're with me. Hurry up. Bring your bag. I'll meet you in the parking lot."

With that, Natsume strode out of the floor and down the first elevator. I groaned and stomped my feet.

"He. Is. So. Dang. Annoying!" I accented, while putting my new laptop and phone into my messenger bag.

"I think he likes you," Koko exclaimed with a straight face.

"Nice one," I returned with sarcasm.

"No, I agree with Koko," Nonoko said softly. "He's never talked that much with anyone else. And you know guys. They like to tease the ones they like."

"Yeah. When they're _teenagers_." I scoffed.

"Believe what you want, but I seriously think that you two would be perfect for each other," Anna chirped. "Seriously."

I waved my hand off dismissively. "All right, I'm off to see Mr. Baron. In the meantime, I highly recommend that you guys get your heads straight."

As I strolled into the elevator, I heard my team's light laughter from behind me, and I smiled. I could really get used to working here.

* * *

"He totally likes her," Anna smiled.

"Yeah. No wonder Sumire flew off the handle. I'm pretty sure she noticed, too," Tsubasa exclaimed. "Man…I've never seen Natsume so interested in a girl. Did you see him during the conference?" (A/N: Whenever the team discusses a case at the table, it's going to be considered a conference.)

"He didn't say a word during the whole thing because he was just _staring _at her," Koko admitted. "The girl didn't even notice."

"It's a first—someone who doesn't drool at him," Ruka said amiably. He leaned back against his chair and looked out the window. He saw Mikan and Natsume walking out to Natsume's sports car—both of them obviously arguing. But then he saw Natsume's lips curved upward—and he was laughing. His jaw dropped. "Hey guys—he just laughed."

Tsubasa almost dropped his phone. "What?"

"He…he just laughed. I saw it. I mean, now he's in the car with Mikan. But…dude, he was _laughing._ With her. Or probably _at _her, but still!"

"Oh god. He totally likes her," Koko exclaimed. "I'm going to give him a hard time."

"I'm glad she was transferred here," Anna exclaimed. Nonoko nodded beside her.

"Yeah, me too. I like her. She's feisty, but she's innocent. And she's nice. Very intelligent, too." Hotaru seemed like she was going down a mental checklist or something. Then, "I approve of her."

The group sweat-dropped. It was so Hotaru to say that.

_"Get to work, guys! You don't want Natsume getting on your case," Anna sang out. Then, she and Nonoko hurried into the adjoined lab next doors to finish that autopsy._

* * *

**Again, please review! If you have any ideas for future cases, don't hesitate to tell me! Actually, _please_ tell me. We're still on the first case right now, but I'll wrap it up in the second chapter. I might have to watch some more CSI or something to get some inspiration. **

**This is officially the longest chapter that I've ever written. **

**Until then,**

**Miya Azlikov**


	2. Case I: Baseball Rivalries

Chapter 2: Baseball Rivalries

Natsume's POV.

The drive to Mark Baron's team training center was about an hour. Any usual day, that would be relaxing—I'd have time to myself, where nobody was observing me or gawking at me. Any normal day, I'd be slowly thinking over the case, the gears in my brain shifting as my mind glided over possible motives, suspects, etc.

Unfortunately, today wasn't normal. Besides me was a beautiful brunette. And not only was she beautiful, she was downright _persistent. _She asked nearly a million questions, hummed to the radio, became erratic and punched my arm when I tried to ignore her…...

So much for peace and quiet, right? It was like the complete opposite. So finally, I relented to her constant bickering and began talking.

"So what's your favorite color?" Mikan asked for the tenth time.

"Is this really necessary?" I answered gruffly, sparing her a peripheral glance.

"Yes, because I'm your partner and I should know who I'm dealing with and—" She suddenly flipped out. "Hey! Keep your eyes on the road, Hyuuga!"

I chuckled. "Red."

"Huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "My favorite color is red."

"O-oh," Mikan said. "Well, it does match your eyes, I have to say. Anyways, _my _favorite color is orange."

"Figures," I exclaimed. Her name meant tangerines, right? How fitting.

"Mm…family?"

"A sister and brother—Aoi and Yoichi. Parents died in a fire," I exclaimed bitterly.

"Arson?"

"Yeah."

"Did they catch the culprit?"

My eyes hooded over. "No."

Mikan tilted her head sympathetically. "And that drove you into the crime-fighting department?"

"I guess." Man, this girl was weird. Normally, people would just kiss up and be overly sympathetic.

"ABI's lucky to have you then," Mikan said softly. When I raised an eyebrow, she continued. "Narumi—the man in charge of my transferal—gave me a profile read of the whole team. Yours in particular is pretty impressive."

"Really," I said mockingly. "Well, I have to agree with you."

Mikan gave me an incredulous, pointed stare. "I compliment you genuinely, and of course, you had to blow up your ego to the size of the the universe."

I smirked. "Anyways, you?"

"I'd rather not go into it," Mikan murmured softly. She noticed my scrutinizing stare, and she read my mind. "Yes, it's worse than yours."

"I'm going to know sooner or later," I told her. "The advantages of such a high clearance job."

She shrugged. "Then you'll know later."

I rolled my eyes, exhaling a frustrated breath. "Stubborn."

Mikan laughed bitterly. "I just don't make it habit to tell people. They never look at me the same way."

"How do you know I'm not different?" I said.

"I don't," Mikan exclaimed, her face completely straight. "But I'm not taking any chances. Yet."

Silence.

"So what do you think happened with Ava Stevenson?" Mikan said.

I turned to her in surprise, and she inhaled sharply. "Hyuuga…for the last time. Eyes. On. The. Road. At. All. Times." She said each word with such menace that I actually obeyed and returned my gaze to the freeway, but of course, I was smirking.

"I think there was some kind of love triangle going on, as Koko said," Natsume shrugged. "But until we find some other leads, that's it."

Mikan leaned back in her seat. "Mm…I don't think so."

"Oh, come on. Why not? Two guys, one girl. She looks decent enough," I exclaimed. And it was true. The blonde had fair complexion, though her facial symmetry was a bit off.

"But that's just it—don't you see? In normal love triangles, wouldn't one of the _guys_—Justin _or _Mark—end up dead? I mean, two guys fighting for one girl. One gets frustrated, angry, jealous—maybe he wanted to eliminate his rival—and in the midst of everything, commits a crime of passion." Mikan ran a hand through her hair. "That's just the thing, though. We know Ava was faithful to Justin, so there wasn't any affair. So that leaves _no _motive for Justin."

"So…what do _you _think?"

Mikan shook her head, clicking away at her laptop, which was propped up on her lap. "I just went through her Facebook…she was _clearly _devoted to Justin (the boyfriend). Mark, however, is a different story. He was the first person who friend requested her. She accepted, but after a certain conversation with Justin, she blocked him immediately."

"What did she say in the conversation?" I asked curiously. Damn, she was meticulous. Every detail burned into her brain, and it was like she didn't miss _anything_. No wonder she and Imai hit it off to a great start.

"Justin told her that Mark Baron was one of his biggest baseball rivals," Mikan exclaimed. "He also mentioned that he was sketchy—you know, bad calls, always ruffing up the refs and the opposing players…basically, Justin had a grudge against him. Probably from a previous game."

"Check Baron's criminal record," I directed.

Mikan gave me a cheeky grin. "Already did. It's mostly misdemeanors…couple DUI's, that's it. No transcending murders or anything."

"It's a start," I grumbled, pulling the car into a parking lot. "All right, get out. We're here."

"Finally! I _love _interrogating." With unnerving enthusiasm, she slipped her things into her bag and jumped out the car. As I fell into stride with her, I couldn't help but notice how different our auras were. Hers was all sunshine and rainbows, although her sophisticated outfit gave her a touch of elegance and high-class. Mine was sophisticated, yes, but it was also sharp and cold.

"How about I do the talking?" I offered none too gently. "I _am _more experienced."

"Ha! But who's gotten all the dirt so far on this case?" Mikan rebutted.

I sighed. "Whatever."

She marched victoriously into the front doors of the baseball stadium. I followed promptly, shaking my head at her pigheadedness…

Who am I kidding? Like me, she was a genius.

We stepped into the main entrance of the stadium, into the field where I could hear the clanking of bats against balls, and the loud calls and yells of the players.

Upon our arrival, a couple jocks eyed Mikan appreciatively, disgusting smirks on their faces. I shot them all death glares—I didn't even know why I was being so protective—and most of the team got the message.

Except for one player who obviously didn't have enough brain cells to save his life. "Hello, beautiful. This is a private practice, but you know, just for you…I think we can let it slide…but your acquaintance is gonna have to take a _hike_—"

I was about to pummel him in the face, but Mikan's cool voice stopped me. I quickly assessed her profile—and wow, it was impressive—but that was beside the point. Her face was completely blank, not at all intimidated by the burly figures surrounding her. Her right eye twitched in controlled anger, and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Mikan cut him off. She held out her badge for him to see. "ABI. We're here to ask a couple questions regarding the murder of Ava Stevenson."

A second of silence. Then, "Wait, what the hell?" "Isn't that Gregory's chick?" "She's dead?" "Since when? How?" "Dude, he just said murder!" "That chick's from the ABI! You think she'll sue me for sexual harassment?" (At this, Mikan snapped her head to the man and smiled devilishly. He shuddered and started staring at his glove.)

I stepped forward, and my presence drove the crowd silent. "We need to speak with Mark Baron."

Immediately, the whole crowd turned to a lanky man, in his mid-twenties, who was staring at the ground in shock.

"Mr. Baron, do you mind stepping aside for a few moments?" Mikan asked professionally. He nodded solemnly and we stepped back indoors.

"So, Mark…Ava recently blocked you on Facebook. The reason?" I asked promptly. Mikan gave me a look that said _Way to get to the point. _I shrugged.

"Oh…well…her boyfriend didn't want me anywhere near her…he's very overprotective like that…he thought I was like a thug of some sort. I don't have the best sportsmanship on the field, I admit."

I saw Mikan look through her phone. She waved it at me. "Nonoko and Anna figured out time of death." She turned to Mark. "Where were you between the times of 8 o'clock to 10 o'clock yesterday night?"

"I was at home."

"Can anybody prove that alibi for you?"

"No. I live alone."

"Then you can understand why you're one of our main suspects at the moment, right?" I said nonchalantly. I looked deep into his eyes. "If I were you, I would get your facts straight and come clean."

He panicked. "I didn't do it! I loved Ava…I would never…I loved her more than anything!"

"Oh, really," I exclaimed. "Well, good talking to you. Stay in town. We may need to speak with you again."

"O-of course…"

And with that, Mikan and I left to the car.

* * *

"He was genuine."

"He was definitely holding something back," Natsume disagreed.

"But he didn't kill her." I huffed.

"And you know this because...?"

I shrugged and tapped my temple. "My instinct's pretty boss."

Natsume raised an eyebrow. "His alibi was extremely sketchy."

I pursed my lips. "Whatever, Hyuuga. How about this? If it's not Baron, you owe me ten dollars."

"Don't cry when you lost ten bucks."

He smirked, and I resisted the urge to just punch his oh-so-beautiful face. As if reading my mind, he started laughing and I lost it. My arm shot out and clipped him in the shoulder, but unfortunately, he didn't budge.

"Ow! What do you have under that suit? Bulletproof armor?" I punched him again, only to have my fist collide with something firm and resistant. Natsume's smirk widened, and I raised an eyebrow curiously.

"It's called being _ripped, _sweetheart."

"No way—there's just _no _way…" I covered my face with my hands, blushing. "I…oh my God, never mind."

"You just called me ripped."

"I did not. Your words, not mine."

"You thought I was wearing bulletproof armor," Natsume exclaimed. "It's the same thing."

"Ugh, whatever! You're an ABI agent. You're _supposed _to be fit."

"Well, you still called me ripped."

By now, we'd pulled into the parking lot of the ABI headquarters. As soon as he stopped the car, I climbed out with a flushed face and hightailed it towards the fifth floor.

37:40 Hours Later —

The elevator burst open and I came running in. "I figured it out!"

"What? And where have you been?" Natsume demanded. "You were supposed to be here three hours ago. You're _late_."

I brushed him off. "The killer is Mark Baron's manager—Andre Greene."

Hotaru walked past me and sat down at the conference table. She gestured for the rest of the team to join. "Explain."

"Okay," I exhaled. "So I revisited Mark Baron's training center."

"Alone?" Natsume interjected.

"Why not?" I jutted my chin. "I can take care of myself, _Mother_."

"Um, because you couldn't possibly handle twenty men pummeling you?"

"I am perfectly capable!"

"You couldn't even punch my arm—and you thought I was wearing armor when it was just my muscle."

I heard Koko chuckle, and I couldn't help the slight blush that painted my cheeks. "I did not—"

"It's okay, honey, we all know Natsume's extremely strong." Tsubasa cooed.

"I held a knife to his face, remember?" I rolled my eyes. "May I continue?"

The group nodded.

"Yuu gave me a warrant. So I searched the locker rooms and guess what I found in Baron's locker?"

"A written confession?"

"No. I found _steroids_."

"And the team didn't jump you? Try to take it back?" Anna exclaimed in horror.

I smiled deviously. "Well, they weren't there. I picked the lock. And the security code was 1234 so _that _was stupid on their part. But—" I looked at Natsume sharply. "—if they _were _present, I would've definitely had it under control. Anyways. I used a crowbar to pry open all the lockers. All the players were on steroids."

"Okay, so what does this mean? I don't get how a team being unfair relates to Ava's murder."

"But it _does_," I said confidently. "Ava found out about the drugs. She knew the info could get her boyfriend's team a straight ticket to Nationals. But Andre Greene caught her taking pictures—and voila! He panicked, and killed her."

"Great story," Natsume drawled sarcastically. "Where the hell is the evidence?"

"Jesus! _Someone _is PMSing," I mumbled, but as I said this, my hands opened my messenger bag and splayed three bags of evidence. "Just kidding, Nattie. I know you're a guy, no matter what the people downstairs say."

"The people downstairs?" Koko guffawed. "No way, man!"

Hotaru grabbed a gun from nowhere and shot Koko in the face. I stood up in alarm, screaming, only to realize that Hotaru had _not _just blown off the face of an ABI agent. The thing had shot out a huge burst of air that still hurt, but at least didn't kill.

I put a hand to my heart, aware of the chuckles coming from Natsume. "Oh my God, I thought she killed him...holy crap. I need a reality check. Oh my God. And stop smirking, Natsume-"

"Everyone SHUT UP. Let's get this case done with. Mikan, stop with the cute little comebacks or else you're next in line with my Baka Gun 3200. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," I gulped. My hands quickly lifted the first evidence bag.

"First, are the pictures I found in his shredder," I began. "You see? She came during the perfect time. Here are the players injecting themselves with the stuff. And we know it's Ava taking the picture because that fingernail—the manicured design is exactly like the one on the vic's body."

"Isn't a shredder supposed to, like, actually _shred _the paper?" Koko asked, scratching his head again.

I laughed. "Yes. I ran the shreds of paper through the scanner on the second floor. The computer rearranged all the pieces—like a big puzzle—and sorted out all the parts."

"Second," I continued. "A bag of the steroids, just as evidence."

"Third, the murder weapon. Anna and Nonoko, could you run it through the mass spec and make sure it's a match?" I asked.

"Sure!" They said in unison, and all I saw was a flash of pink and blue as they ran to the lab with the bat.

Five minutes later, they returned, screaming "It's a match!"

I smiled, content.

"All right, bring the guy in. Tsubasa, Koko, take care of him," Natsume ordered.

They nodded and set off dutifully.

"Wow, Mikan, great job! That case was, like, all you," Ruka commented graciously.

"Haha, no way, but thanks!" I exclaimed modestly. "Anyways." I turned to Natsume. "I told you it wasn't Baron."

He groaned. "Fine. Whatever."

I held my hand out expectantly. "Uh, cough up. Ten dollars, remember?"

He grudgingly pulled a ten from his pocket and threw it at me. I smiled my thanks. "Nice doing business with you."

* * *

Ruka's POV

What the heck is going on here? I've never seen Natsume so at _ease _with someone other than me. Heck, he actually seems to be less uptight around the new transfer! It just didn't make sense.

Or actually, it did. And it was painfully simple: the guy was in love. Everyone could sense a change in the cold, brusque Natsume Hyuuga. He looked at Mikan in a different way, he joked along with her, and although she seemed extremely defiant, we could tell Mikan was warming up to him as well.

They were perfect, were they not?

Unfortunately, Mikan was _extremely _dense (everyone had noticed this by now). For instance, at work the other day, Natsume had unconsciously started staring at her. It was an easy enough feat to do, since their desks were right next to each other's. Mikan had looked behind her, at a plain white wall, and exclaimed, "Natsume? What's so interesting on the wall?"

He snapped his head to his computer screen, a faint blush on his cheeks that Mikan was oblivious to. Across the room, Koko chortled with laughter and even I couldn't help but laugh. He just looked so cute - like a child caught doing something wrong.

But seriously, the girl was so dense. How could she _not _know that he was staring at her?

Yesterday night, as we were leaving the building, a random agent from the third floor came up to Mikan with a rose and asked her: "Do you know heaven's number, because I think I found an angel."

She looked around the lobby, her voice nonchalant. "Where?"

He faltered, slightly taken aback by her answer.

"And I don't think angels exist, so...I don't think I can help you with that. Sorry."

I mean, what the hell?

Our whole team had just stood there - well, Natsume was glaring until she shot him down - in complete shock. Hotaru rolled her eyes. Anna and Nonoko sweat-dropped, and Koko and Tsubasa fell down with laughter.

And then when she joined us, she was scratching her head cutely, saying, "Well, I don't know where that came from...I mean, does anyone here know heaven's number? Geez."

And with that, she sent the boys into another fitful of laughter. The girl was something, I tell you. Natsume definitely had his hands full. And not to mention, Yukihara had told us earlier (just Natsume and I) that she had had a difficult past, that people could be out to get her...

* * *

**Dear Readers,**

**So I decided that this story is going to be based off of Bones/The Mentalist. I just can't handle Criminal Minds and CSI. I'm too wimpy to handle the suspenseful, gory scenes. I'm gonna stick to the more forensic shows. Because thanks to Criminal Minds, I am now scared of my closet. **

**I know, pathetic, tell me about it. **

**Anyways, please Rate & Review. It definitely motivates me to write/update faster. **

**Thanks,**

**Miya Azlikov**


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